News

In AIDS-Affected Regions, Journalists Must Continue to Raise Awareness

The fight against HIV/AIDS is a decades-long global battle which had claimed the lives of 34 million people by the end of 2015. Yet the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that only 54 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS are aware of their infection.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected region, with around 25 million people estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS in 2014.

ICFJ Knight Roundup: ICFJ Knight Award Nomination Deadline Approaches

As part of the Knight International Media Innovators blog, the ICFJ Knight team will round up stories focused on how their fellows are making an impact in the field. Find out more about the fellows' projects by clicking here.

A final reminder for 2016 Knight Awards nominations, Code for South Africa's new data school and more from the Knight Fellows in this week’s roundup.

There's still time!

Inside the Innovative Training Model at Code for South Africa's Data Journalism Academy

What does it take to convince thinly stretched, understaffed newsrooms to release experienced reporters for three months to attend a data journalism program — and pay for the privilege, too?

Understanding the Need for Cybersecurity in African Journalism

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), over the past two decades 780 journalists worldwide were murdered while reporting or investigating stories. Many used digital tools in their daily work, which exposed them to cyber threats as well.

This trend is reflected in a recent CPJ report indicating that 109 out of the 199 journalists jailed last year worked online.

The Biggest Mistake a News Startup Can Make: Not Hiring a Web Editor

There has been a surge in news organizations over the last 10 years. The advent of digital publishing has led to startups covering everything from general news to the smallest of niches you can imagine. For years, these new organizations have tried to model themselves after their big brothers. This works out, sometimes. Other times budget constraints, inexperience and sheer practicality overwhelm and undercut important structural and business decisions.

The biggest and most oft-repeated mistake that I see these new groups making is ignoring the desperate role of a web editor.

Six Encryption Tools Every Journalist Should Use

In several years of training journalists, I have seen that most journalists agree with the need for encryption to protect their information, but only a few of them really embrace the technology. At first, I thought it was a problem of awareness, but I have since come to realize that the complexity of technology also plays a role.

Journalists often fail to protect their information because encryption systems are complicated and not very friendly to non-technical users. Most journalists have multiple assignments, little time and limited technological skills.

ICFJ Knight Roundup: impactAFRICA Funds $500k Contest to Support Data Journalism

Each week as part of the Knight International Media Innovators blog, the ICFJ Knight team will round up stories focused on how their fellows are making an impact in the field. Find out more about the fellows' projects by clicking here.

How Digital Newsrooms Can Use Chat Bots to Their Advantage

Have you ever spoken to a chat bot? You may have done so and not even realized it. But if technology companies have their way, it's likely that you'll spend time in conversation with one in 2016.

And if chat bots are a breakthrough success in 2016, how will the media be able to harness this new technology?

Chat bots are online services programmed to take actions or give automated responses based on comments or questions that a user sends to them. These responses can be very simple, like checking the weather near you or providing transport timetables.

Code for Africa and Open Knowledge Help Push for Open African Governments

"Open" has become a new buzzword for many governments around the world.

How Oscar Castilla Made the Leap to Digital and Launched Online News Site Ojo Público

Oscar Castilla spent 12 years at El Comercio, Peru's most important daily newspaper, honing his reporting skills with investigations of organized crime and corruption.

Then, in 2014, Castilla and some colleagues from the investigative unit decided to leave the paper for editorial reasons.

"The editor at the time had one view of journalism and we had another," he told me in an interview.